Hamilton: The Spectator

Child care is finally an issue that will take part in the upcoming federal election. 

Initially, the acknowledgement of the topic of child care began with NDP's Tom Mulclair who is rooting for $15 dollars a day for child care and over 1 million child care spaces across the country.

The Conservatives have pitched the Universal Child Care Benefit enhancement and fat cheques are being mailed out to homes of families with children under the age of 18. 

If you're a store clerk you get it. If you're CEO of a hospital, you get it. How much will it help? As details emerge, it looks like not much. The UCCB is taxable, so an Ontario parent receiving an additional $720 in monthly income will pay about $225 back in taxes. Now consider that the Conservatives eliminated the existing child tax credit of $2,255 when they introduced the UCCB. Check with your tax person for your specifics. But many experts say the UCCB will result in only about $160 in new income over a year — a whopping $13.18 a month.

The Liberal plan would cost an incremental $2 billion. The Canada Child Benefit would not be taxable but it would be scaled so wealthy families would receive less while low income parents would receive more. 

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